Psalm 145 is one of the most beautiful hymns of the psalter. I will exalt you and praise your name for your greatness and goodness, O God, sings the psalmist. Your people "will tell of your mighty acts" and goodness forever (st. 1-2). You show your grace to sinners, and you care for all your creatures (st. 3). "All you have made will praise you" (v. 10); your saints will proclaim your glorious and eternal reign (st. 4). O LORD, you are faithful in restoring the afflicted and providing food for all living things (st. 5). In your righteousness you never fail to care for those who trust and obey you (st. 6); you redeem your saints, and you overthrow the wicked. Let every creature praise God's name (st. 7). The (altered) versification is from the 1912 Psalter. Other settings of Psalm 145 are at 185 and 186.

Liturgical Use:As a processional psalm in Reformation services; many other occasions in Christian worship.

Tune Information:

Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (b. Bournemouth, England, 1848; d. Rustington, Sussex, England, 1918) originally wrote JERUSALEM in 1916 for the William Blake text "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time" (which refers to the [new] Jerusalem being built on English soil). It was published in sheet form in 1916, and its first publication in a hymnbook was in A Students' Hymnal (1923). The Federation of Music Competition Festivals adopted JERUSALEM as their national hymn. The tune gained additional popularity through its use in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. Majestic and dignified, with a fine climax in the last long line, JERUSALEM calls for strong unison congregational singing and forceful organ accompaniment. Singing the entire psalm calls for antipho¬ny: have everyone sing stanzas 1, 4, and 7; alternate groups can sing stanzas 2-3 and 5-6 respectively.

Parry was a major force in the revival of music in England in the late nineteenth century. He received an excellent musical education at Eton College and Exeter College, Oxford. Because his father did not want him to assume a musical career, he worked for Lloyd's Register of Shipping for three years. But ultimately his interest in music prevailed: he taught music at the Royal College of Music from 1883 to 1918 and at Oxford University from 1900 to 1918. Parry composed chamber music, piano and choral pieces, and English songs and symphonies. A cofounder of the Oxford University Music Club, he contributed articles to Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians and published The Art of Music (1893), Style in Musical Art (1911), and a biography of J. S. Bach (1909). A number of his hymn tunes were published in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1904).

Other Resources:

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The following are alternative accompaniments for this tune, JERUSALEM.

145C: I Will Exalt My God, My King

"Te Exaltaré" is one of the forty-six songs in Celebremus II, produced by a task force representing Hispanic congregations and musicians and by the Section on Worship of the Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. We know nothing about the origin of this particular song, but it is well known among Spanish-speaking Christians.

In style, "Te Exaltaré" is similar to the African song "Jesus, We Love to Meet," Bruno Nettl writes: "The development of characteristic and memorable rhythyms that became the basis of Latin American popular dances-the rumba, samba, and conga-was probably made possible by the fact that both the West African and the Hispanic traditions favored complicated, driving rhythyms with steady pulsating patterns" (Folk and Traditional Music of the Western Continents, p. 189).

The text is taken from the opening verses of Psalm 145, a joyful song of praise. This song would serve well as a hymn of dedication and offering, or anytime when praise is appropriate. The hymn has an infectious beat; don't be surprised if you catch yourself singing it at home or in the car!

Suggestions for introducing the hymn follow:

Week 1. Have the youth choir accompanied with guitars and piano, present the song to the congregation. The song may be sung in English or in Spanish-or one time through in each language. Use percussion instruments to add to the festive joy of this psalm. See pattersn at left.

Week 2. The youth choir sings the hymn the first time throughl the congregation joins them on the second singing.

Week 3. If you live near a Spanish-speaking congregation, you may wish to plan a joint bilingual service, in which the hymn is sung in both languages. The joy of singing this song might spill over into additional fellowship as you exalt together the greatness of the Lord.

Casiodoro Cardenas, an Ecuadoran, based this song on Psalm 145: 1-3. The English translation of the text includes work in 1985 by Frank Sawyer and in 1986 by Bert Polman. "Te Exaltaré" was published in Ecuador in 1975 in Tiempo de Cantar (vol. 2) and in the United States in Celebremos I (1979), a collection of Hispanic songs produced by the United Methodist Church.

Liturgical Use:At the beginning of worship as an entrance psalm of praise, at the offering as a psalm of dedication, or at the conclusion as a psalm of commitment to honor the Lord.

Tune Information:

ECUADOR, composed by Cardenas, consists of four musical phrases repeated and combined in various ways. The tune was arranged by Raquel Mora Martinez (b. Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, 1940) for Celebremos; she served on the editorial committee that prepared that collection of Hispanic songs and also supervised the revision of Himmnario Metodista (1973), both United Methodist publications. Martinez, a church musician and editor for Word, Inc., received a B.A. in music education from the University of Texas in El Paso, Texas, and a Master of Sacred Music degree from the Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, Texas. She also studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

This music shares characteristics with the sanjuanito dance found in Ecuador (thus the tune title) and has the infectious rhythms common to other Latin dances such as the rumba, samba, and conga. ECUADOR is intended for unison singing, for keyboard (preferably piano or organ without pedals), and guitar. Hand clapping and ostinati on Orff instruments can be improvised in addition to the given percussion patterns.

Other Resources:

Visit hymnary.org for more information on this song and additional resources.

145E: I Will Extol You, O My God

Based on Psalm 145: 1-8, "I Will Extol You" is reprinted, with a few alterations, from the 1912 Psalter. This part of the psalm centers on the well-known Hebrew confession "God is great, God is good!"

Tune Information:

The tune NOEL (also used at 185) is also known as EARDISLEY or GERARD. Arthur Seymour Sullivan (b Lambeth, London. England. 1842; d. Westminster, London, 1900) adapted this traditional English melody (probably one of the variants of the folk song "Dives and Lazarus"), added phrases of his own to recast the melody in common meter double, and published it first in his Church Hymns with Tunes (1874). In that collection Sullivan set this tune to the Christmas carol "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," which explains one of the tune names.

Though NOEL has frequent changes of harmony, do not sing it too slowly; keep the rhythmic energy moving. Antiphonal performance may highlight the refrain (second half of st. 3 and 5) in this psalm: all sing stanzas 1, 3, and 5; alternate groups sing stanzas 2 and 4. The folk origin of the tune suggests unison singing to most, but Sullivan's harmony will attract some choristers. Either way, this is lively music.

Sullivan was born of an Italian mother and an Irish father who was an army bandmaster and a professor of music. Sullivan entered the Chapel Royal as a chorister in 1854. He was elected as the first Mendelssohn scholar in 1856, when he began his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also studied at the Leipzig Conservatory (1858-1861) and in 1866 was appointed professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music.

Early in his career Sullivan composed oratorios and music for some Shakespeare plays. However, he is best known for writing the music for lyrics by William S. Gilbert, which produced popular operettas such as H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879), The Mikado (1884), and Yeomen of the Guard (1888). These operettas satirized the court and everyday life in Victorian times.

Although he composed some anthems, in the area of church music Sullivan is best remembered for his hymn tunes, written between 1867 and 1874 and published in The Hymnary (1872) and Church Hymns (1874), both of which he edited. He contributed hymns to A Hymnal Chiefly from The Book of Praise (1867) and to the Presbyterian collection Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship (1867). A complete collection of his hymns and arrangements was published posthumously as Hymn Tunes by Arthur Sullivan (1902). Sullivan steadfastly refused to grant permission to those who wished to make hymn tunes from the popular melodies in his operettas.

Other Resources:

Visit hymnary.org for more information on this song and additional resources.